Book Description
Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on his luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a straight thirty six hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.
Now he has a new problem: a slave who won’t talk and can’t cook, and drags trouble in her wake. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar. A few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory: now he’s living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next.
Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It’s up to Ruso—certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire—to discover the truth. With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.
Customer Reviews:
Medicus is great.......2007-09-19
Medicus is the first book by Ruth Downie, and she plans more to come. Her hero is a crusty Roman medical officer stationed with the XX Legio at Deva, modern Chester, England. Because they have no one else to take the bodies to (there were no police forces in ancient Rome, and anyway these murder victims were only slaves), people keep bring the bodies to the doctor. Though he's reluctant to get involved (he has more than enough troubles to worry about, from the pending foreclosure on the family farm to his difficult relationship with another Roman official), he's finally hooked on the question of the deaths. Murder and mayhem ensue, of course. I liked the fact that the protagonist wasn't an official "informer" or investigator. And also that he was living in the imperial backwater of Britain. His difficulties with the hospital administrator were amusing. Bureaucracy never changes!
Doctor in the House.......2007-09-11
All in all it is a good read, one that I recommend.
Rather than embroidered with a vast sweep of historic greats, Downie's "Medicus" is woven with day-to day circumstances of the more common folk, a slant that gives the plot some fascinating twists readily recognizable to the average person as the sort of surprises, ambiguities and aggravations so much a part of their own lives. But there is mystery and intrigue for Gaius Petrius Ruso, a medical officer stationed with a Roman legion in ancient Britain. His already complicated life becomes even more so by Tilla, his would-be slave, who is not exactly in full appreciation of her dire circumstances. A well-constructed plot in and around the fort location of Deva keeps a steady pace. The novel's other characters provide a colorful supporting cast and stimulate marvelous images of human comedy and tragedy, especially when they center around Merula's, a site of local, um, entertainment. Personal details of the characters' day-to-day living experiences bring this above the typical sword and sandal genre and provoke some refreshing humor.
I did find the attribution of vernacular English to be a bit of a distraction, for example the soldiers referring to each other as "lads." However, this was not a serious enough flaw to detract on what was otherwise a fun book to savor.
A Good debut.......2007-09-02
I have no doubt this author will improve with experience. Medicus is a little slow to start. I was about half through with little sleuthing on Ruso's part, more denial that he was investigating, although others seemed insistant he was. Nevertheless it was a nice read, and if this is a series she may continue with, this is a good introduction to the characters. It did however pick up in the second half and move along nicely. I wouldn't say she rivals Lindsey Davis, her characters and writing are her own, and she will, I think, carve her own niche.
I don't regret buying the book and look forward to her next, which I will definitely buy.
Amazing first book.......2007-08-23
Good story, great characters, well researched, funny, overall an amazing first novel. I sure hope this is the first book in a long series.
Compares very favorably with Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, John Maddox Roberts (all writing about Roman times), Ellis Peters and Elizabeth Peters. Can't get much better than that!
dave
In between Davis and Saylor.......2007-07-19
With Medicus, Downie joins Lindsay Davis and Stephen Saylor as the preeminent authors of genre fiction set in ancient Rome. I already like her more than Davis, but she has to write a few more books before I can compare her to Saylor. On the positive side, the novel features a likable hero in Ruso, a doctor, and I like how the author sprinkles in detail about medicine and health care of the time. I also like how she bridges the gap between ancient Rome and the modern world: for example, Ruso's problems with women and bureaucracy are relatable despite the centuries. On the negative side, the central mystery progressed too slowly and the identity of the villain is too predictable. I am also tired of reading about Roman characters who fall in love with their slaves. It's so trite. Furthermore, I don't feel that the author explains their romance. Why does he fall in love with her? Because she's pretty? That's lust, not love.
Medicus is a good debut novel. If Downie can evolve as a writer like Saylor did, she will become required reading.
Book Description
Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
The truth shines through........2007-10-17
This book wades through all the crazy ideas out there and puts the nuts to shame. If you want to know the facts and not crazy ideas this is the book for you.
hey.......2007-09-20
so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book
Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20
Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.
Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14
I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.
Junk Science.......2007-08-29
This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.
Book Description
From one of P. D. James's favorite mystery authors comes the third Shardlake novel
Autumn 1541. A plot against the throne has been uncovered, and Henry VIII has set off on a spectacular progress from London to York, along with a thousand soldiers, the cream of the nobility, and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, to quell his rebellious northern subjects. Awaiting his arrival are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his loyal assistant, Jack Barak. In addition to processing petitions to the king, Shardlake's task is to protect a dangerous conspirator until he is transported back to London for interrogation.
But when a local glazier is murdered, things get a little more complicated as the murder seems to be not only connected to Shardlake's prisoner but also to the royal family itself. Then Shardlake stumbles upon a cache of secret papers that throws into doubt the legitimacy of the entire royal line, and a chain of events unfolds that threatens Shardlake with the most terrifying fate of the age: imprisonment in the Tower of London.
Customer Reviews:
Marvelous, immersive historical mystery.......2007-10-15
Sansom is fast earning a spot on my "grab" list. You know: the authors who are so unrelentingly excellent that you'd grab any book with their name on it, without even looking at the rest of the cover. He's that good, at least in this series about Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer who is trying (unsuccessfully) to live a quiet life at the edges of Henry VIII's England.
(Catherine Howard is queen, which gives you some sense of the time period.)
Shardlake is given a plum assignment, to take care of some legal matters during the King's progress to York. He's also given an uncomfortable addendum: there's a prisoner in York who needs to be kept alive until he can be brought to the Tower of London for questioning (i.e. torture). So Shardlake and his assistant, Jack Barak, head to York... and almost immediately (this being a mystery after all) come across a dead body.
As in the previous novels in this series, the immediacy of the place is fabulous. You smell the stink of the stable, taste the dull but filling potage, get the sense of what it was like to live in that place and time. The storytelling is great; my guesses for whodunnit were all wrong, and the true answer made perfect sense. And I really like this character.
Unlike many such books, you could read this one as a standalone. It'd be better if you read the earlier books, certainly, but you don't need most of the backstory for this to work. (And if you like Phillipa Gregory's books about the same era, particularly The Boleyn Inheritance, you'll really like this one.) This isn't a light read -- it's full of court intrigue and has a large cast of characters -- but it's extremely enjoyable.
"Politics is a hard and cruel game.".......2007-09-30
C. J. Sansom's "Sovereign" is the third mystery in this critically acclaimed series featuring Matthew Shardlake, a thirty-nine year old lawyer, and his assistant, Jack Barak. The author demonstrates his prodigious historical knowledge as he traces Henry VIII's Great Progress to the North in 1541. Along with Catherine Howard, his fifth wife, a large number of soldiers, and members of the nobility, Henry and his retinue made their way from London to York with the goal of bringing the king's discontented northern subjects under control. Archbishop Cranmer sends Matthew Shardlake on the trip to process petitions for the king and to safeguard an important prisoner who is to be interrogated in the Tower of London. Matthew travels with a heavy heart, having recently buried his father, whom he had neglected. With the money that he will earn from this mission, Matthew hopes to pay off his father's remaining debts.
After the Progress finally reaches York, a glazier falls off his ladder and is impaled on fragments of glass. Shardlake quickly realizes that this was no accident. There may be a conspiracy afoot against Henry; papers hidden in the glazier's house would wreak havoc if they were to fall into the wrong hands. Since Matthew caught a glimpse of these papers, he becomes a target and narrowly escapes repeated attempts on his life. Meanwhile, Jack Barak has found love; he is smitten with a pretty young woman, Tamasin Reedbourne, who works in Queen Catherine's household. Matthew and Jack join forces to discover the identity of the killer and to uncover a secret so explosive that it could bring down a mighty monarch.
The strength of "Sovereign" lies in the author's exhaustive attention to historical detail; Sansom immerses the reader in the political, religious, and cultural events of Henry VIII's reign. Tudor England was filled with ruthless individuals who committed immoral acts because of their lust for power, a desire for wealth, and religious fanaticism. Scenes of cold-blooded murder, torture, and suicide reflect the violence and desperation of those volatile times. There is a contemporary flavor to the novel's themes; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Matthew Shardlake is as admirable and likeable as ever. He has an abnormally curved back which makes him the butt of cruel jokes, but his deformity has not robbed him of his self-respect. His keen intellect and determination propel him to disregard his personal safety in order to bring a murderer to justice. Shardlake and Jack make a solid team: Matthew has experience, a thorough knowledge of the law, and patience; what Barak lacks in seasoning and judgment he makes up for in loyalty, courage, and strength. Jack looks up to Matthew, who has taught the younger man to venerate learning and behave with integrity.
Ironically, the initial strength of the novel ultimately becomes its undoing. The author gets carried away with his verbiage, and the novel soon becomes repetitious and tedious. At nearly six-hundred pages, "Sovereign" would have profited from careful pruning. The large cast of characters is too unwieldy to allow for much shading, and the impact of the mystery is diluted because of the many subplots that compete for the readers' attention. Although "Sovereign" is packed with fascinating information and colorful atmosphere, it would have been far more satisfying had it been more streamlined and better focused.
Very, very good........2007-09-10
This is the first of the Shardlake series that I have read, and I loved it. I came onto Amazon tonight to order two copies of the first two books, one for me and one for my daughter. Now, I usually don't do that...I usually order one copy and pass it on to her when I am done. In my recent memory, Harry Potter is the only series I have ordered multiple copies of.
The Henry VIII time period is my favorite historical period, and I do know quite a bit about it. Sansom is remarkably true to historical accuracy....which is more than one can say about the recent miniseries about Henry VIII which had his 2 sisters condensed into one, marrying the wrong king, and murdering him! Titulus Regulus, which is a key plot item, actually existed.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book.
Beth O'Keefe
Shardlake and the "true" king of England.......2007-08-03
For those who think that the reign of Henry VIII was, relatively, a peaceful one, this book should come as quite a shock. It discusses very briefly the Pilgrimage of Grace, a northen uprising in 1535 by followers of the Catholic faith that almost toppled the throne. Because of this, and the discovery of another potential conspiracy a few years later, Henry VIII, Queen Catherine Howard, and a huge retinue make a progression through the north to go to York, the hotbed of papal activity. Our hero Matthew Shardlake is dragooned by Archbishop Cranmer to go along and watch over a prisoner in York associated with the latest plot. On this theme hangs another excellent book, and our hero finds himself deeply into murders, conspiracies, and the possibility that the Tudor line may not be the "real" royal line, and Henry may be a usurper. To tell more would spoil a wonderful plot that races along, and keeps the reader going page by page, long after he or she should probably be asleep (in my case). I hope that there will be more of these books in the future.
Excellent as usual.......2007-07-25
CJ Sansom has hit upon a formula that, at least to my way of thinking, combines the perfect elements in a novel: history, suspense, religion and relationships. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three books.
I wanted to add to the other comments that this book would be particularly interesting for readers of Philippa Gregory's The Boleyn Inheritance, because all of Sovereign takes place during the Progress to York, which also figures importantly in the Gregory book. There are many overlapping historical characters, but the two writers' perception of them is very different.
I hope Sansom continues chronologically-- I would very much like to read an Elizabethan Shardlake story. I hope Brother Shardlake has a long and healthy life!
Book Description
Ethan Gage, assistant to Ben Franklin and expatriate American in post–Revolutionary France, wins an ancient––and possibly cursed––medallion in a card game. Covered in seemingly undecipherable symbols, the medallion seems linked to an ancient Masonic mystery. That night, Ethan is framed for a prostitute's murder and barely escapes France his life.
Faced with either prison or death, Gage is offered a third choice––to accompany the new Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, as France sails to conquer Egypt, closely followed by Lord Nelson's British fleet. Incredible surprises await Gage once he arrives, in the form of both a beautiful Macedonian slave and in the dawning knowledge that the medallion may answer one of the greatest riddles of history––who built the Great Pyramids, and why––and reveal an answer more shocking and revelatory than anyone could imagine.
Customer Reviews:
Can't Decide about this book.......2007-09-25
The book was everything the following reviews have stated. Some of it was truely enjoyable and thriling, at times dull and confusing.
I have to admit that I really didn't get a lot of character building that I thought Ethan Gage should have had. Some character traces were introduced to us but somehow they didn't stick to the protagonist much. It was like certain character points had to be restated in order to move the plot forward. For instance: was Gage a gambling prostitue visiting vagabond? A scholar under the likes of Franklin? (He really turned out quite dumb on the scholarly endevors). Is he a disgruntled Mason looking for the roots of Masonry? A battle hardened warrior from the French and Indian wars? This guy is all over the place we don't get established enough care about him, then to top it off, set beside Napoleon as a character he washes out even more. I liked Napoleon better than Gage, as he was brought to life better than many treatises I have read.
Cheaply ended at the end of the story, quite rightly set up for a sequel but could have been done so much more cleaverly. Historical facts, some well researched some-not.
All in all a good read, pacing and plot points were well done but these atributes didn't make the novel great. It could have been so much better. I think that this guy was writing a screenplay that turned into a novel, or a novel that he wants to option on a screenplay. It was too much like "National Treasure" to be coincidence.
A leap into history.......2007-09-24
This fast moving novel takes the reader into the time of Napolean and his quest to dominate the world through conquering Egypt, but the story is not really about Napolean. Rather, we follow this adventure through the actions of a man caught up in something much larger than himself or even the pyramids - the quest for knowledge. Those of you who love knowledge, seek knowledge, and respect knowledge will particularly appreciate the internal struggle of good and evil, where the distinction is often unclear. In the end we all must make choices about what is truly important to us, and live with the consequences of those choices.
Move over Clive Cussler and Bernard Cornwell.......2007-09-10
Move over Clive Cussler and Bernard Cornwell, here comes William Dietrich!!! Dietrich makes a light-speed jump from his past novels Hadrian's Wall and Scourge of God with Napoleon's Pyramids. It's not only Dietrich's best work so far, it is one of the best in the genre this year. It is a pulse-pounding thriller that is tough to put down. Ethan Gage, the stories protagonist, is a great, likable, adventurer - one that I hope we will see in subsequent Dietrich novels. He manages to stay just one step ahead of the bad guys in this epic. This hair raising historical adventure has it all; Templars, Freemasons, Egyptian Rite, and Napoleon's excursion into Egypt that uncovers the mysteries of the Great Pyramid. Ethan also strikes up a romance with the exotic and mysterious Astiza - a beautiful Egyptian priestess. The book ends with a surprising thrill ride. Gage solves the dual mysteries of the Great Pyramid and the lovely Astiza. I highly recommend this book!
A pleasant mixture of fact and fiction.......2007-08-04
This is the first book I have read by William Dietrich after my local library put it on their recommended reading list. It is clear that Dietrich has done his research. Not only capturing Naploean's character as a person but also the sights and sounds of battle in 18th century Egypt.
It is a nice blend of historical fact and fiction. However, not only was Napolean larger than life in history, he is also in this book. At times, Napolean becomes the central character instead of Ethan, the fictional character whom this story is centered upon. Ethan comes across as shallow almost naive and portrayed as a playboy with no care in the world still trying to find his place. Dietirch writes him as a supporting character and maybe even a sub plot. You will fell as you are reading a Clive Clusser novel.
The ending is a let down, with the obvious hint that a sequel will come. Refer to the main page for confirmation of this. Despite this, it is wonderful and easy read.
Heavy on History.......2007-06-22
William Dietrich is a historian, and it shows. There are enough dates and facts in this novel to excite any historian. Unfortunately, it also reads like a history text at times. And therein lies my problem with this book.
While the ultimate story was good, even intriguing at certain points, there were several things that put me off this book. The first was the use of first person point of view. Though not unusual, it seemed limiting and forceful in this story. I have read many books written in first person and enjoyed them, but it did not work for me in this one.
The second problem was Dietrich's tendency toward lengthy diatribes dumping dry information on the unsuspecting reader. These passages reminded me uncomfortably of a dry history lecture. I was forced to sit through them in my college years; I don't want to have to do that when reading a book for enjoyment.
The third problem for me was the ending. No, I will not reveal the outcome, but the ending chapter made it quite obvious there will be a sequel. The lack of a conclusive end is something I loathe in modern books. It is a marketing ploy thought up by bean counters. While it forces readers to purchase the next book in the series, it does not generate fans. Though the ending here was very good, it was not satisfying.
Now, all that being said, I did enjoy parts of this story. It is reminiscent of Indiana Jones stories in that it concerns an adventurous American, a mysterious medallion and a beautiful woman and is set against the mystical background of Egypt. Throw in Napoleon and his attempt to conquer Egypt and Africa and you have the basis for a good adventure.
I will honestly admit that I did enjoy the ending much more than I did the beginning. If I hadn't been forced to read this book for review, I would probably have stopped after the first chapter. But I did read on. It took me a month to read the first five chapters and less than an evening to read the last five. If you can get through the history lessons in the beginning, you may actually enjoy this book.
If you don't mind lectures and books that will lead you to the next in the series, by all means pick this one up. If you want an adventure and action, you might be disappointed with the beginning, but the ending is well worth the read.
Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder
06/22/2007
Book Description
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FATHERLAND AND POMPEII COMES THE MOST PROVOCATIVE AND BRILLIANT NOVEL OF ANTIQUITY SINCE I, CLAUDIUS --
IMPERIUM
A CAUTIONARY TALE OF CICERO, THE GREATEST ORATOR OF ALL TIME, AND HIS EXTRAORDINARY STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN ROME.
When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Marcus Cicero -- an ambitious young lawyer and spellbinding orator, who at the age of twenty-seven is determined to attain imperium -- supreme power in the state.
Of all the great figures of the Roman world, none was more fascinating or charismatic than Cicero. And Tiro -- the inventor of shorthand and author of numerous books, including a celebrated biography of his master (which was lost in the Dark Ages) -- was always by his side.
Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, Imperium is the re-creation of his vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero's quest for glory, competing with some of the most powerful and intimidating figures of his -- or any other -- age: Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, and the many other powerful Romans who changed history.
Robert Harris, the world's master of innovative historical fiction, lures us into a violent, treacherous world of Roman politics at once exotically different from and yet startlingly similar to our own -- a world of Senate intrigue and electoral corruption, special prosecutors and political adventurism -- to describe how one clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable man fought to reach the top.
Customer Reviews:
"I do not propose to die leaving one ounce of talent unspent, or one mile of energy left in my legs".......2007-10-12
When most people think about the history of Rome and fiction works based on it, a few names quickly come to mind, including Caesar, Pompey and Caligula. In terms of his influence in today's world though, there is another man that should be considered as a serious challenger to those important figures in history: Marcus Tullius Cicero. Not only he is almost unanimously considered as the top orator and politician in ancient Rome, but his speeches and ideas on government have been studied, imitated and utilized by leaders throughout history. His influence is such that even the US Constitution is based in part on Cicero's ideas on how government should be organized.
Robert Harris brings this intriguing, and sometimes contradictory, character to life by taking historic information as the skeleton of his novel and adding fictionalized dialogues and events to fill in the meat. Thus, we get a novel that is not only instructive regarding the importance of Cicero in a time when the end of the Republic was visible in the horizon, but also one that entertains the reader until its conclusion.
Harris had a great idea when he decided to use Tiro, Cicero's slave, secretary and friend, as the narrator of this story. This provides a broader view than what the author would have been able to deliver by a first person narrator, but more of an inside look than we would get from an omniscient narrator. From the start of Cicero's public life as a lawyer and politician, until his running for Consul, Tiro takes us, with his steady voice, through the events that had a crucial role in the destiny of one of the greatest civilizations in history.
This is a great novel, and those that are interested in the history of Rome will definitely have a great time reading it. And don't worry; Pompey and Caesar are part of this work, since they also had a key role in the events that unfolded at this time. I would have liked the novel to continue until the end of Cicero's life, but maybe we will get that in the next one. This is the second book Harris writes on Rome, and at this point I am convinced that with his accurate research and great ability for adding fiction without changing the facts, Harris has established himself as part of the elite in this niche.
ANCIENT ROME'S CLARENCE DARROW........2007-10-10
IMPERIUM is a fascinating book that permits the reader a view of the Rome of Cicero, the legendary Roman orator. Indeed, Cicero is the focus of this novel, but this book is more than about Cicero, since it is told through the eyes of Cicero's loyal slave-secretary Tiro.
The novel examines two period's of Cicero's life, and thereby, two periods of Roman history. Cicero's climb to fame and fortune is the first offering of this work. The well researched history affords the reader a look at the brilliance and legal artistry of Cicero. One can easily understand how this great man rose to such prominence in his world. In the process, the reader meets a variety of political characters and military leaders, and in so doing, better understands the workings of the Roman Republic and the aspirations of some of its "giants".
The second phase of the novel explores Cicero's rise to the Consulship of Rome. The inner workings of the political animal that was Roman democracy is exposed, and while this so-called democracy was flawed, it did contribute to the evolution of modern democracy. Interestingly, some of the flaws and failings of the ancient democracy are still with us today, in our allegedly enlightened and modern democracy. Some things in politics are constants, like scheming, lying, and of course, the old reliable standby, corruption. And some of the political "slogans" remain the same too.
This book is a very quick and rewarding read. Its historical backdrop is accurately depicted, the characters drawn from fact, and the story intriguing. I unhesitatingly recommend it.
Cicero's Rise to Power.......2007-10-09
I am in awe of the fictional writers of the Roman Empire: Graves, McCullough, Saylor, Harris and many others. Steeped in the history, they can envision the time and bring it alive. Each of the novels I have read by these authors has brought me more in touch with some element of the complex culture of the time.
Here, through a speculative treatment on how Cicero became a "new man", Harris shows us how elections took place and how corruption, for which this society was known, infected them. Harris also deals with issues of class and the entrenched attitudes about status. Through Cicero's rise we learn and these affected politics after Sula and the Civil War.
We also get a plausible portrait of Cicero, how he thought and what motivated him.
I highly recommend this for anyone who has interest in this historical period.
Excellent, and very different from McCullough.......2007-10-08
I love Colleen McCullough's sprawling Roman series, which is an extraordinary panorama of one of the most turbulent, fascinating and influential eras of western history, the six-decade-long Fall of the Roman Republic. She's not as polished a writer as Robert Harris, though...her books are wonderfully prolix, almost too much so, and she has certain repetitive mannerisms which can annoy. But the series certainly is a monumental achievement.
While McCullough focuses around the towering life and impact of Julius Caesar, Harris's choice of Cicero is perhaps even more revealing of the true nature of Late Republican politics. Cicero was a major player for most of this period, whose complex relationships with the various factions had immense influence on the course of events, and yet -- unlike Caesar, born to the highest aristocracy -- he was also an outsider who depended entirely on his wits to struggle and survive. Harris deftly depicts his qualities of pragmatism, idealism and political cunning as he negotiates the viper's nest of public service in ancient Rome.
Cicero hasn't aged well in most modern historical recreations. I believe most of our contemporaries accept the greatness and inevitability of Caesar, or someone very like him. Because Cicero opposed Caesar and his faction, and eventually lost his life for it, he comes across most often as a stuffy, self-serving, conniving, all-too-outspoken conservative out of step with the times. The fabulous if inaccurate TV series Rome is just the most recent example.
In fact, Cicero may have been the only sincere defender of the Roman Republic remaining by the time he was killed...and for all its flaws, it was certainly a nobler form of government than its imperial successor.
This excellent book helps to redress the character of Cicero. I can't wait for the sequel.
Cicero Rising.......2007-09-15
Although Robert Harris writes historical fiction, he is not particularly attached to any one time or place. His first novel was actually an alternate history - a what-if-the-Nazis-won-WWII tale called Fatherland. He has, in his last two novels, however, gone back to ancient Rome, first with Pompeii (which I have not read) and now with Imperium, a fictional biography of Cicero.
Narrated by Cicero's slave Tiro (who serves more as an observer than a true character), Imperium tells of the rise of Cicero to the highest position in the Roman Republic, the consulship. The first half is actually more of a courtroom thriller, with Cicero prosecuting a corrupt Sicilian governor. Actually, most of the legal system is open to bribery, making Cicero's job all the harder. At stake is Cicero's whole career: if he can somehow pull off a victory, he can start his climb in power; if he fails, he will never be more than a lowly senator. Of course, since Cicero is well-known in history and the governor, Verres, is almost forgotten, most readers know who will win, but Harris is still able to make the prosecution suspenseful.
The second half of the book deals with Cicero's political rise and the intrigues that both help him and make him enemies. His principal ally - although not always reliable - is Pompey, the great general who is at the peak of his power. On the other side is the plutocrat Crassus, whose hatred of Pompey will create an enmity with Pompey. There is the vicious Catalina who has Crassus's backing and intends on opposing Cicero for the consulship. Finally, there is the ambitious up-and-comer, Julius Caesar.
Harris has written a good novel, but there are imperfections. For all his attempts at being historically accurate, he also has anachronisms, such as referring to the months of July and August (which would not be named until decades later after Julius and Augustus Caesar had risen to the peaks of their power). The story also ends rather abruptly, leading me to think that Harris has a sequel intended. Harris does succeed at the heart of the book, however, bringing Cicero - often thought of as the greatest orator ever - to life. Fans of historical novels - particularly Roman historical novels - should enjoy Imperium.
Book Description
Can modern science tell us what happened to Amelia Earhart? The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has spent fifteen years searching for the famous lost pilot using everything from archival research and archaeological survey to side-scan sonar and the analysis of radio wave propagation. In this spellbinding book, four of TIGHAR's scholars offer tantalizing evidence that the First Lady of the Air and her navigator Fred Noonan landed on an uninhabited tropical island but perished before they could be rescued. Do they have Amelia's shoe? Parts of her airplane? Are her bones tucked away in a hospital in Fiji? Come join their fascinating expedition and examine the evidence for yourself! The new paperback edition brings the search up to the present, including tantalizing evidence of campfires and charred bones found on remote Nikumaroro.
Customer Reviews:
"The Forensic Search for Amelia Earhart".......2007-09-04
"Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved?", Udated 2004 Ed., Thomas F. King, et al., AltaMira Press, NY 2001, ISBN: 0-7591-0131-0, PB 374 pgs., plus 23 pg. Notes, 9 pg. Biblio., 20 pg. Index, & 104 B & W photos, illus. or maps., 6" x 9".
This is an academic work by a contingent of skilled scientific experts whose writings & basic investigative work was coordinated, in part & on behalf of TIGHAR (Int. Group of Historical Aircraft Recovery) & updated 2004. The 27 chapters describe a forensic approach to solve the mystery of aviatrix AE's disappearance enroute 2,223 miles to Howland Isle from Lae, New Guinea, July 2, 1937.
The book's format & length makes for difficult reading: -- it is based on best available scientific evidences & hypotheses of multiple disciplines of archeology, geophysics, aeronautics, anthropology, and review of both private & governmental archival information in addition to tabulating their search findings on tiny remote South Pacific Phoenix Isle "Gardner", but renamed Nikumaroro, or "Niku". Author was a principle TIGHAR investigator taking part in expeditions to Niku, & he writes with authority, -- having "been there, done that!"
Inclusion of more than 100 photos, illustrations, maps, etc., makes the reading more easily understood & tolerable: -- for it is not a book one picks up and being enchanted 'reads from cover to cover' without pause. For readers who want an up-to-date analysis of AE's disappearance this book is best read after the reader is thoroughly familiar with AE's character, avocations, skills, life experiences's and accolades by the press, politicians & the powerful, -- for Amelia was a complex person living in exciting, changing times on the cutting edge of new technologies.
Many of the chapters begin with stanzas of word parodies to be sung to certain melodies, attributable to TIGHAR but not author King. The parodies I found to be highly irregular, unsettling & not in best taste, so downgraded book from 5* to 4*.
Welcome back, TIGHARs.......2006-10-27
Those persistent TIGHARs are back with more suggestive but inconclusive research about what happened to Amelia Earhart, who disappeared in 1937 -- somewhere.
Every so often, somebody shows up in Hawaii with a kooky theory about Earhart, ranging from shot by the Japanese as a spy to still alive and keeping house in New Jersey.
The International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery is far from kooky.
For one thing, they appear to have managed the trick of being zealous without becoming zealots. As lead author Thomas King puts it, "Most people have more pressing things to do" than hunt for a lost airplane that, given the odds, would more likely than not be under three miles of water.
The TIGHARs work, for free, in their spare time, on the assumption that, despite the geographical odds, Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan didn't just run out of gas and sink under the ocean. They think Earhart missed her target but may have crash landed on an intermittently inhabited (but in 1937 empty) island named Nikumaroro, where Earhart and Noonan might have either survived for a while or been eaten by crabs.
It's "a mystery that can't be put down," King says.
But hard to pin down.
Since the publication of "Amelia Earhart's Shoes" in 2001, the TIGHARs have run down more physical evidence, including things that look a lot like panels from a Lockheed Electra, but nothing definitive yet. The revised, 2005 edition is preferred over the first edition.
The story of the hunt also reveals a great deal of fascinating information about the South Pacific, which is big, mostly empty and weird.
HOW you solve the mystery is just as important.......2006-09-26
Who says historical research and science have to be boring? In Amelia Earhart's Shoes, Dr. Tom King and others take us on a winding (sometimes loopy, even!) journey that tries to answer the question: What happened to famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and renowned navigator Fred Noonan in 1937 after they vanished during her around-the-world flight attempt?
Amelia Earhart's Shoes does not pretend to solve the mystery - it does show that by applying the scientific method to a popular event, you can strip away all the myths and fables and assumptions and come up with relatively simple explanations that can be tested to see if they are true or false. That the scientific method may upset a few of those legendary apple carts along the way is proof that it works - something is either true or not true, provable or not provable. In Earhart's case, the truth may turn out to be much more mundane than some of the more colorful "solutions" to her disappearance would have us believe.
There is a lot of information in Shoes, but it is presented in an easy to read, almost chatty style (think ghost stories around the campfire while making s'mores) that keeps you turning the pages to see what the heck is going to happen next. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has now been to the South Pacific eight times to try and prove or disprove their hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan missed their destination, tiny Howland Island, and landed on another deserted island, only to die (or perhaps be completely missed) before the frantic searchers could get to them.
Amelia Earhart's Shoes is a great read that should be on the bookshelf of everyone interested in what really did happen out there in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean almost 70 years ago.
Fantastic, not at all dry!.......2006-05-02
I saw one of the people involved in this project speak at EAA's big national air show in Oshkosh, WI last summer. It was the most popular lecture session I attended while I was there. Interested, I picked up this book expecting a thorough but dry, academic read.
Was I ever wrong! This book is not only fascinating, it's funny! It's written with some dry humor that made me want to keep reading more. And the authors lay out a strong argument, to boot. It does make one wonder...
I Couldn't Put This Book Down!.......2002-05-03
I picked up this book at my library on a lark. I've always been interested in what really happened to Amelia Earhart, but always just assumed that her plane crashed into the ocean. This book, however, completely opened my eyes to a new hypothosis: that Amelia and her navigator managed to land on an island and send out radio signals for help. The information presented in this book isn't just wild guesses and conspiracy theories - the authors make a point of backing up their thoughts with cold, hard evidence. I was hooked from the first page and got so engrossed that I ended up not doing my work at my job just so that I could finish a few more chapters. The book also has a wicked sense of humor and debunks the myth that scientists are just stodgy old guys. I'd reccomend this book to anyone with even an ounce of curosity. I'm holding my breath until Dr. Tom King and the other authors put out another book on Amelia. I can't wait to see what they find!
Book Description
After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today.
By placing the image of the Virgin Mary at the center of their churches and their lives, medieval people exalted womanhood to a level unknown in any previous society. For the first time, men began to treat women with dignity and women took up professions that had always been closed to them.
The communion bread, believed to be the body of Jesus, encouraged the formulation of new questions in philosophy: Could reality be so fluid that one substance could be transformed into another? Could ordinary bread become a holy reality? Could mud become gold, as the alchemists believed? These new questions pushed the minds of medieval thinkers toward what would become modern science.
Artists began to ask themselves similar questions. How can we depict human anatomy so that it looks real to the viewer? How can we depict motion in a composition that never moves? How can two dimensions appear to be three? Medieval artists (and writers, too) invented the Western tradition of realism.
On visits to the great cities of Europe—monumental Rome; the intellectually explosive Paris of Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas; the hotbed of scientific study that was Oxford; and the incomparable Florence of Dante and Giotto—Cahill brilliantly captures the spirit of experimentation, the colorful pageantry, and the passionate pursuit of knowledge that built the foundations for the modern world. Bursting with stunning four-color art, MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES is the ultimate Christmas gift book.
Customer Reviews:
All Over The Map.......2007-09-16
Maybe Cahill's a frustrated stand-up comic. Imagine the author as a stand-up inviting the audience to suggest topics for improvised comedic departure. Someone shouts out, "The Middle Ages!" and Cahill thinks, "Yeah. I can go with that." So we're off on tangent after tangent about Frank Zappa or Osama Bin Laden. Spare us the "cute" writing. Please.
Better Items Available.......2007-09-03
I agree with most of the negative reviewers of this product. The author is condescending and irritating. While he has a fine grasp of the English language, many of his conjectures are not only incorrect they are idiotic. His personal views, which he feels a need to share, detract from the story he is trying to tell in an unavoidable and irritating way. Stay away from this one.
Enjoyable overview of the Middle Ages & how they formed us.......2007-08-12
This is the fourth book in Cahill's "Hinges of History" series, and it is excellent. As others have pointed out it is not in-depth, not scholarly but rather written for people who don't usually read history. He makes it completly enjoyable, ties together main points, major movements, the pivotable people in a sort of quilt of moving shapes and colors that for a moment bring it all alive again. In this book famous and less famous people each are used to illustrate points about an era, and the changes that began in that era, and in fact that person may have been the one of powerhouses of the change, like Abelard, or Eleanor of Aquitaine, or simply a recorder or interpreter of it as Giotto was. Each fingernail sketch of a life in its unique era is memorable. Hildegarde of Bingen, at age 8, was given to the Church by her noble parents, to be interred as an anchorite, a life of complete sequestration, forever. Yet as she grew to adulthood the depth and breadth of her learning, taught to her in her little walled-in cell by a monk, grew to the point that her writings and correspondence was noted throughout Europe and even the Popes knew of her. She was perhaps the best known and best educated woman in Europe in her day and the most influential in the Roman Catholic Church. Made an abbess and allowed to preach and write openly she lived on to age 81, renowned and venerated. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the richest heiress in Europe at age 15, ruler of Aquitaine and other parts of France larger than the remaining lands of France itself was married first to the French king and went on Crusade with him, the first Noble woman known to do so; divorced him to marry her lover the much younger king of England; was the mother of several sons by him including Richard the Lion Hearted, her favorite...from her, most of the royalty of Europe descends. She was a strong, powerful,and free woman for most of her long life. The story of Heloise and Abelard, the great and tragic lovers is retold really well. Dante's story,his long exile due to the great wars of his native Florence and the feuding families at the root of it all reminds one of the Romeo and Juliet story: the "two houses"...But not to miss the point that each life discussed is tied in to a specific time and concept of an age different from us but leading toward us and our time. In fact, as the author points out, the events, the gradual change in thought-- never predetermined-- were how our era as it is now was formed; our way of seeing the world, our political, relgious, cultural and scientific, views were formed from theirs, our immediate cultural forebears.
An Engaging Writer but Superficial and Wrongheaded History.......2007-07-15
Though an engaging writer, Cahill is an appallingly bad historian. He compares the medieval nun Hildegard of Bingen to blues singer Bessie Smith (Hildegard's lyrics display a spiritualized eroticism) and the woman in bondage in The Story of O and refers to Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City in the same passage. ("This was one loose sister," is his characterization of Hildegard.) He compares Dante to James Joyce on the grounds that both were exiles infatuated with their mother cities. He characterizes WWI's Gallipoli as a "confrontation between ... Islam and the West," an appallingly bad summary of a complex military campaign which had little to do with religion and a great deal to do with military matters. Throughout the book, Cahill tramples history into a muddled paste of great figures and exalting moments, ignoring nuance or exception. He concludes with a five-page diatribe against sycophancy and buggery in today's Church. The footnotes don't inform much; the bibliography omits essential scholarship (e.g., R. W. Southern on medieval humanism, Roberto Lopez and Lauro Martines on Renaissance humanism). It is difficult to conceive of an audience that would benefit from reading this silly and superficial book.
Haven't finished reading it yet...too soon..........2007-07-05
but from the first page I have felt as though this is the easiest and most interesting way to experience history.
I don't believe anyone else can make reading & studying history such a pleasure. My method is to jot down notes on a small paper pad with the page number noted, so I can go back & make sure I have absorbed the links that have led to the future. There is such a stupendous wealth of detail.
I have all of Thomas Cahill's Hinges of History books so far and have never been disappointed yet.
Mary H.
Book Description
Byzantium, 1096. A mysterious assassin releases an arrow aimed at the emperor---but he has more than just a man in his sights. A keystone of a crumbling empire, the emperor is the solitary figure holding all the enemies in check. And if he falls, the mightiest power in Christendom will be torn apart.
Demetrios Askiates, unveiler of mysteries, is hired to catch the would-be-killer. But he is entering an unknown world; a babbling cauldron of princes, slaves, mercenaries, pimps, and eunuchs. Not all enemies are within the city walls, however, and with the Turks running rampant across Asia, the emperor has sent to the west for mercenaries to reinforce his position. When a great army, tens of thousands strong, appears before the city gates---the emperor gets more than he bargained for. From the depths of the slums to the golden towers of the city palace; from the sands of the hippodrome to the soaring domes of Ayia Sophia; Demetrios must edge his way through a glittering maze of treachery and deceit before time runs out.
Intent on making their fortunes in war, and with no allegiance to this empire, the first crusaders have arrived with eyes full of jealousy and suspicion. As the armies of the east and west confront each other, and with the assassin creeping ever closer to his prey, Demetrios must untangle this golden web of intrigue that surrounds the emperor---before the city, and the empire, are drowned in blood.
“His portrayal of the Byzantine city and the intrigues that threaten its destruction is vivid and convincing.”
---The Sunday Times (UK)
“It’s a world that Harper brings exuberantly to life, clearly revelling in its teeming, tumultuous extravagance. But he also has a sharp eye for an intriguing mystery.”
---Yorkshire Post (UK)
“Tom Harper writes with strident clarity in this epic tale of murder and betrayal, bloodshed and romance. Gripping from the first page, the reader is swept up.... Well researched and cinematic in its imagery, this is a fast-paced and exciting debut.”
---INK (UK)
“A gripping tale...I look forward to Demetrios’s further adventures.”
---Elizabeth Hawksley, Historical Novels Review
“A lively adventure.... The imperial palace, with all its splendor and intrigue, is brought vividly to life.”
---Good Book Review (UK)
“An engaging romp---Byzantine not only in time and location but the ins and outs of the plot.”
---The Advertiser (Australia)
Customer Reviews:
Very fun story that will actually take you to Byzantium.......2007-07-30
No spoilers.
I'll have to agree with another reviewer here who noted that the immediate flaw in this novel is that there is little introduction or background given about the protagonist, Demetrios, until about a quarter of the way into the book. Having said that (and overlooking it because you eventually find out about him), this is definitely a book I recommend.
Although I began to suspect who the Emperor's true enemy was before it was revealed, even that, which is something that I usually hate when reading a mystery, didn't take away from the quality of the story. Harper, with ease, immerses the reader into eleventh century Byzantine society to the point where you almost believe you are reading these events unfold in the present, right outside your window.
I fully recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and who wants to be transported into their story.
Conspiracy, Spies, Betrayel, Epic Battles - Medieval Times.......2007-01-23
Medieval Times. What a...mysterious time in our (human) past. After the fall of Rome, the world dived into a 1000 years of turmoil, wars, Crusades, and so much more. How much fun!
Set during the time of Emperor Alexios, we have a great, huge story which brings the reader right into the story from the first page, to the very end. Our hero is Demetrios. Former mercenary, turned "investigator" there is a plot to assassinate the emperor, and take over the empire.
We are weaved through a fine tale, based on much fact, of betrayel, loyalties, and much more. Who tried to kill the Emperor, and why? With a barbarian army from France marching towards the city, the turks lurking just a few hundred miles away, we are setup for a final scene unlike more others. Will Demetrios find out who and why tried to Assassinate the Emperor?
The book is extremely well written. Great characters, again, many based on actual events and people. Tom Harper shows his knowledge of the times, with a very convincing story.
Whether you are a fan of the times or not, this book will entertain you. Not for a minute was I counting the pages left.
A Fascinating Read.......2007-01-06
Tom Harper is a pseudonym of Edwin Thomas who grew up in West Germany, Belgium and America before returning to England to study history at Oxford university. The mosaic of Shadows is about a period of history that I enjoy reading about very much, but even if I am slightly biased I believe that the book is a really good read for anyone interested in historical murder mysteries.
The book takes place in Byzantium, the year is 1096, 30 years after the bastard Norman, Duke William had captured the throne of England from the grasp of Harold at Hastings.
When an attempt is made on the life of the emperor by a mysterious assassin, whoever sent the killer to try to murder the emperor knows that it was not just a man who would have been killed by the assassin's arrow but an empire in decline. If the emperor should fall then the mightiest force in Christendom will be torn apart. Only too aware of his precarious position the emperor hire the unveiled of mysteries, Demetrios Askiates to catch the would-be-killer. But even for one such as Demetrios the task of finding the killer is all but impossible. An unknown world of prince's and paupers, slaves mercenaries, harems and eunuchs. From the slums to the golden palace, enemies are lurking in the shadows, but not all are within the wall of the city.
The first crusaders have arrived and are intent on making their fortunes. They hold no allegiance to an enemy they eye with suspicion. As they armies of the east and the west confront each other across a barren landscape, the assassin prepares to make another attempt upon the life of the emperor. Can Demetrios untangle the web of deceit and intrigue that surrounds the emperor and his city before it is too late and one of the greatest empires of all time crumbles into the dust . . .
A fine first.......2007-01-01
Mr. Harper certainly knows his Byzantine and Crusader history and culture, and has stuck close to the reality of the times. He can also spin a detective tale. There may be scenes the reader will doubt, but it's all true. Mr. Harper does not invent the mechanical lions that bristled and roared next to the Emperor's throne to frighten barbarians.
A nice mix of personal/family issues and detective work, as well as great historical events. The mix of the first two might remind one of Lindsey Davis's Falco, but unlike either Davis or John Maddox Roberts in their top-notch Roman detective series, Harper is not also a humorist. The book is a straightforward historical mystery, but unlike Rosemary Rowe's Libertus series, it isn't just a non-stop series of clue-unraveling. Harper is never dull reading.
Enjoyable story by young author.......2005-12-03
After the disaster at Manzikert, the great Byzantine Empire calls for help from the 'barbarian' west. Emperor Alexios Komnenos appeals for mercenaries to help him re-capture his Asian province (modern-day Turkey). Instead, the west responds with the First Crusade. The Crusaders are anxious to confront the Turks who occupy Jerusalem, but they have no interest in helping Alexios regain his lost province. When Alexios demands their oath that any conquests within his former territory be returned to him, they refuse. Political hardball? Perhaps. But when an assassin's bolt nearly kills the Emperor, the Emperor's eunuch hires ex-mercenary and now detective Demetrios Askiates to uncover the truth.
Pieces of the truth are easy enough to discover. The bolt could only have been fired from a western crossbow, the kind the Franks outside the city carry. And a monk who seems to follow the western rites is clearly responsible. But the eunuch knows that a foreign monk cannot be the center of the plot. Some 'Roman' must be involved--one with enough power that he would be in a position to have himself proclaimed Emperor if the current Emperor falls.
Author Tom Harper does a fine job describing the city of Constantinople under siege, the Greek intrigues that so frustrated the western Crusaders, and the various groups of mercenaries who defended the Empire while the mob often controlled its fate. Demetrios Askiates makes an intriguing sleuth, with his concern for his daughters and his ambivalent feelings toward the beautiful doctor, Anna. We can, perhaps, forgive 26-year-old author Harper for believing that a man in his mid-thirties is over the hill and unable to carry weapons effectively.
Fans of historical mystery will want to pick up MOSAIC OF SHADOWS--and hope that we soon see more by Tom Harper.
Book Description
It's 76 A.D. during the reign of Vespasian and the Roman holiday of Saturnalia has begun. The days are short; the nights are for wild parties. But not for Marcus Didius Falco. Falco is an informer by trade - his job is to uncover unwelcome truths and deal with sensitive situations, frequently at the behest of the imperial government. And just such a case has arisen. A general has captured a famous enemy of Rome, and brings her home to adorn his eventual Triumph as a ritual sacrifice. But everything goes wrong from there - first she acquires a mysterious illness, then a young man is horrendously murdered and she escapes from house arrest.
Marcus Didius Falco, hired to find her and return her to custody before Saturnalia is over, is pitted against his old rival, the Chief Spy Anacrites. The two of them are in a race against time to find the fugitive before the public learns of the situation, making the government look stupid. Falco, however, has other priorities. Helena’s brother Justinus has also vanished, perhaps fatally involved once more with the great lost love of his youth.
Against the riotous backdrop of the season of misrule, the search seems impossible and only Falco seems to notice that some dark agency is bringing death to the city streets…
Customer Reviews:
Another Enjoyable Falco Case.......2007-09-13
I have read every book in the series, and while there are a few that don't quite measure up, this one is right on target. It contains the history and atmosphere that make the stories unique, along with the family and political scheming that give us all something to which we can relate. I consider this one less of a mystery and more of true private eye novel, but no matter how you see it, Ms. Davis has created some terrific characters, and I look forward to meeting up with them again each time a new book comes out.
Saturnalia.......2007-07-04
This is the best in the series!
The mystery is fairly intriguing, but the book gets its vibrancy from the glimpses we get of Falco's extended family during Saturnalia. I can't wait for the next installment!
Elegant, Incisive and So Roman.......2007-06-26
Marcus Didius Falco, somewhat incongruously, makes all the nuttiness work in Ancient Rome, with the help of his Charming Wife.
Who Knew!?
one of her best.......2007-06-14
Lindsey Davis's Falco books are among my favorites. I love the way she characterizes his crazy and amusing family and friends, and in this one she features them throughout, so it was a special treat. The Vigiles' Saturnalia party is hilarious. I also prefer when her stories take place in the city of Rome, as this one does, rather than around the empire.
Lindsey Davis's Best Falco Novel Yet.......2007-06-08
Saturnalia is Lindsey Davis's single best Falco novel yet written. In this work, in A.D. 76, Roman Emperor Vespasian orders Marcus Didius Falco to investigate a nobleman's murder. The emperor is worried that this murder was really an act of terrorism related to a Germanic tribal leader's struggle against Rome.
Specifically, a barbarian woman named Veleda is the lead suspect. However, both Falco and his wife Helena have their doubts about this. Everything seems a little bit too convenient about the idea that a barbarian was responsible for the murder.
Saturnalia is a thrilling historical detective novel that will hold your interest from page one. It is most heartily recommended.
Average customer rating:
- You might not sleep well at night
- Hang on for the ride!
- Cabinet of Curiosities
- The fourth one I've read...
- The horrors of a search for anti-aging secrets.
|
The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3
Douglas Preston , and
Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Still Life With Crows
-
Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2)
-
Brimstone
-
Dance of Death
-
The Relic (Pendergast, Book 1)
ASIN: 0446530220 |
Book Description
In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house isdiscovered.Inside are thirty-six bodies all murdered and mutilatedmore than a century ago.While FBI agent Pendergast investigates theold crimes, identical killings start to terrorize the city.Thenightmare has begun. Again.
Download Description
THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, like The Relic, takes place in and around New York's Museum of Natural History. FBI agent Pendergast, journalist Bill Smithback, and archaeologist Nora Kelly return in this harrowing thriller.The story begins with the gruesome discovery in downtown Manhattan of an underground charnel house containing the bones of dozens of murder victims. Research reveals that a serial killer was at work in New York's notorious Five Points neighborhood in the 1880s. But when a newspaper story on the old murders appears to spark a new series of horrifyingly similar killings, panic overtakes New York City, and far too many clues seem to lead to the conclusion that the original murderer may still be alive.
Customer Reviews:
You might not sleep well at night.......2007-09-16
A doctor turned serial killer on the loose in New York City, vivid descriptions of human dissection while the victim is still alive and conscious, a diabolical prescription for prolonging human life - not the sort of stuff I usually read. But this book was a gift, and so I began reading, thinking that after a few pages I'd set the book down for good. But I found myself being sucked into the dusty basement archives of the New York Museum of History where the mystery begins some 130 years prior, being sucked in and glued to the spot. The Cabinet of Curiosities is a very explicitly told tale, rich in texture, mood, and historical fact, with bizarre characters, some of whom readily fit the bill as whodunit suspects. So I read on, read about the terrible plight of a teenage girl in the nineteenth century, imprisoned by the mad doctor. Knowing she would soon die, she writes a note in her own blood and conceals it in the lining of her dress. 130 years later, the note comes to light when a gruesome charnel pit containing 36 bodies is unearthed revealing the heinous crime. Despite the ghastly subject matter, I could not put this damn book down. Authors Preston and Child are very skilled at their craft, conjuring up detailed imagery of the Cabinets, the dusty archives, the icy cold of the killer's laboratories. They keep the pace and tension going throughout. When all is said and done though, a few of the players of this large cast exit without giving the reader total satisfaction. The throwaway lines summing up the ridiculously stupid Captain Custer, for example, did not quite do it for me. Still, if you're looking for a well written page turner, this is definitely worth reading. Review by David Marsh, Sea Chest Books
Hang on for the ride!.......2007-09-14
After reading the first three pages of "The Cabinet of Curiosities", I rushed to the library and checked out every Preston/Child book there was. A week later, my family was sulking, the house was a wreck and I missed several events I was supposed to attend, but I'd finished all eight books. I still think it was a week well spent.
Not one book disappoints and each can stand alone. The plot twists are unpredictable even to this jaded reader, and for more than a few pages in more than a few books, the hair deliciously stood up on the back of my neck--a very rare experience for me.
These books have elements I always hope for but rarely find in contemporary fiction. They're smart! Bits of arcane trivia, hints of the supernatural, a cast of colorful and likeable characters, dark foreshadowings of evil to come and sometime FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, who knows things no one else does--no, no, REALLY no one else does. Trust me when I say Aloysius Pendergast is worthy of comparison with Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey. While reminiscent of both, he's much more. The reader finds out...no, I'm sorry, you'll just have to read it yourself.
"The Cabinet of Curiosities" is THE perfect thriller, but every one of the Pendergast novels is great; each is very different from the others. Just don't start reading until you have time to finish--I'll be catching up on chores for weeks, though the family seems to have gotten over it.
Cabinet of Curiosities.......2007-08-24
Book arrived in excellent condition...I have not read the volume yet but am listening to an abridged version on tape and it's unusual, entertaining and very imaginative.
The fourth one I've read..........2007-06-25
Cabinet of Curiosities was the fourth book I've read by Preston and Child, and I'm reading my fifth one right now (Riptide). These guys know how to write gut-wrenching, stomach turning thrillers! FBI agent Pendergast, a great though unbelievably talented character, is back, although police detective D'Agosta is not in this one. As in the other books, Pendergast always escapes from hopeless situations, but that's no spoiler, since Preston and Child surely wouldn't kill off their best character.
For sheer suspense, I rate these authors on a par with Nelson DeMille. Cabinet of Curiosities can be pretty gruesome at times, and if you live alone, it's probably not the best choice for reading on a dark, stormy night unless you like being scared out of your wits.
If you've read other books by Preston and Child, Cabinet of Curiosities is as good or better than any of them. If you haven't read any of their books, I recommend starting with Relic and going through them in order so you can see the various characters introduced.
The horrors of a search for anti-aging secrets........2007-05-07
While preparing land for a development, the skeletons of children long dead are brought to light--buried within the walls of the foundation. The solution to the crimes involves the staff of the Museum of Natural History and a man's search for long life. Each chapter is a cliff hanger--it is impossible to put down once you begin! Look for its prequels as well.
Books:
- Mississippi Sissy
- Napoleon's Pyramids
- New Worlds: The Great Voyages of Discovery 1400-1600
- Patty Reed's Doll: The Story of the Donner Party
- Phaidon Design Classics (3 Volume Set) (Design Classics)
- Physik (Septimus Heap, Book 3)
- Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
- Point of Impact
- Present Tense: The United States Since 1945
- Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Helping The Stork: The Choices and Challenges of Donor Insemination
- Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do: Nine Secrets Every Working Woman Must Know
- Methods and Results in Crystallization of Membrane Proteins
- Optical Semiconductor Devices
- The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din Attar
- What to Do When You Don't Want to Call the Cops: or A Non-Adversarial Approach to Sexual Harassment
- The Principles of Riding: The Official Instruction Handbook of the German National Equestrian Federa
- No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism
- People Painting Scrapbook
- Duty Faithfully Performed: Robert E. Lee and His Critics
Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome (Novels of Ancient Rome)
Saturnalia: A Marcus Didius Falco Novel (Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries)
SPQR X: A Point of Law (The SPQR Roman Mysteries)
Mistress of the Art of Death
Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome
